In Laurel County we’re growing ideas that make a difference in your life, your family, and your community. We

have a dedicated staff of trained professionals delivering educational programs in agriculture and natural resources,

family and consumer sciences, 4-H youth development, and community and economic development. The Laurel

County Cooperative Extension Office is your connection to the University of Kentucky and the world.

You’ll see some key numbers in this report. But the numbers don’t show you the people or the impact of our work. So

the rest of this report shows the faces behind some of the numbers.

IN LAUREL COUNTY

December 1, 2012

2012 Tornado Relief

On March 2nd an EF-2 tornado touched down in

northern Laurel County, ripping through the small

communities of

Hawk Creek, Arthur

Ridge and Hazel

Green and leaving

behind an 8 mile

path of devastation.

In the wake of

destruction, 315

homes were damaged, 68 were completely de-

stroyed, and 8 members of our community lost their

lives. The Cooperative Extension Service collabo-

rated with several other agencies to provide much

needed assistance to the victims, including serving

10,000 meals and educating relief centers about food

safety to protect volunteers and victims from food

borne illnesses. We assisted with the distribution of

food safety information, cleaning materials, organi-

zation of donations at relief centers, distributing

medical supplies, and procuring specially needed

items for individuals with unique health conditions

such as cancer. An estimated 375 families benefited

from relief efforts.

In addition to addressing immediate need The Ken-

tucky Horse Council Relief Grants totaled $1,400.00

and was administered by distributing much needed

feed, hay and fencing supplies. Agents, along with

coordinating Extension volunteers assisted with the

rescue of two horses trapped in woodland debris.

Dead animal removal

and pesticide cleanup

and disposal was also

coordinated in the

affected communities.

The Laurel County Ag-

ricultural Development

Council and the Laurel County Cattleman’s Associa-

tion provided 13 farm operations with grants totaling

6,000.00 to help with fencing and other farm cleanup

activities that were not

covered by farm insur-

ance policies. With the

help of various organi-

zations and the com-

munity as a whole, the

area was able to re-

build effectively.

Reaching Out to

Laurel County

Educational Programs

Programs presented 840

Total participants 31,982

Educational Contacts

Clientele visits 112,350

Telephone consultations 35,750

Newsletters distributed 67,830

Volunteer Development

Volunteers 750

Volunteer hours 29,700

Clientele reached by volunteers 53,270

2

4-H Dollars & Sense According to the United

States Census Bureau, 20.1%

of Laurel Countians live be-

low the poverty level and the

median household income is

$36,787, compared to the

average Kentucky income of

41,576. Many families have

faced financial hardships

over the past year, making

the importance of teaching

financial literacy at a young

age even more important.

The 4-H Dollars and Sense program has become a

good tool for teaching youth how to budget money

well, especially in tough economic times.

The Laurel County 4-H Youth Development Agent

implemented the 4-H Dollars and Sense program in 4

elementary school classrooms during spring 2012. In a

forty-five minute program, students received a $200

allowance for a given month and they were allowed to

spend their allowance at fifteen different booths (food,

clothing, transportation, etc.). During the hands-on

simulation, students assumed that they were their cur-

rent age and were responsible for living off their al-

lowance. Most students also had the responsibility of

taking care of one or more pets.

A total of 560 students participated in the program,

with the assistance of 21 adult and teen volunteers. A

pre and post-survey was given to every student after

the program that resulted in the following results: Af-

ter the program, 46% of students believed it was a lit-

tle difficult to manage money

and 36% stated that it was very

difficult to manage money, be-

fore the program 44% of stu-

dents stated that they thought

about the cost of an item before

purchasing it- after the program

- 71% of students stated that

they would think about the cost

of an item before purchasing it

now. This is a 27% increase.

Some things that surprised the

students most were:

How quickly you can run out of money- In order to

save money-don’t get the most expensive items-shop

around- To save money -That money can be difficult

to manage- That you have to pay taxes- To donate

money to organizations- You should be careful what

you buy- You need to choose wisely to have enough

for the things you need- Don’t spend all your money in

one place.

Reality Store and Workforce Preparation The Laurel County Extension Council and the 4-H

Council identified Economic Awareness and Work

Force Preparation

as a priority for

the 2011-2012

Plan of Work. To

address this need,

the Laurel County

Extension Agent

for 4-H Youth

Development and the Director for Secondary Educa-

tion in Laurel County, collaborated to implement a

Middle School Reality Store program for 7th and 8th

grade students at three local middle schools.

In the first session, the 4-H agent, Youth Service Cen-

ter personnel and school guidance counselors assisted

students with choosing a career based upon their GPA.

After this session, students researched their occupa-

tion and salary and were given a budget for the activ-

ity. They were able to see and compare the differ-

ences in salary according to careers and education. 1.

High School graduate 2. Technical, Trade or Associ-

ate’s degree or 3. Four-year college degree. Upon ar-

rival to the Reality Store, students received debit cards

to spend at each booth, along with their budget. They

began their journey through reality by paying state

and local taxes at the first booth, then Housing and

Transportation, Utilities and Communications, Gro-

cery and Clothing, etc. The final session was to rec-

oncile budgets and see how they did with the budget-

ing activity.

A total of over 600 students from three schools par-

ticipated. More than 60 volunteers, business owners

and University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension

personnel helped work the booths and assisted stu-

dents with the program. Students were surprised by

the cost of taxes and insurance, as well as the cost of

having a family, and the difference that a college de-

gree makes on income.

3

Gardeners Toolbox Workshop Series The Gardener’s Toolbox Workshop series conducted by

the Horticulture program has seen a significant increase

in participation in the last year. These classes present

the gardener, whether experienced or beginner, with the

basic information

needed to make

gardening more

productive and, in

many cases, less

labor intensive.

Workshop topics

were selected in

response to sugges-

tions submitted in class evaluations and by specific re-

quests from community members. Some of the most

popular topics in this year’s series included backyard

poultry production, beginning beekeeping, landscape

tree pruning, seed saving methods, garden irrigation,

and small fruit production (strawberries, blueberries,

blackberries and raspberries). As more people express

an interest in growing their own food and/or supple-

menting their income through produce sales, the presen-

tations are geared toward both the home gardener and

the small-scale commercial producer.

Data from the 2011-2012 workshops showed a 50%

increase in the overall number of participants at the

workshops. The number of female participants in the

classes also increased from 37% to 49%.

Master Clothing Volunteers

The Kentucky Master Volunteer in Clothing Program is

an outgrowth of volunteer interest to utilize volunteers in

teaching sewing. The goals of the program are to reach,

teach, and involve commu-

nity clientele to affect behav-

ior change and improve fam-

ily living, to provide in-depth

ongoing educational opportu-

nities for volunteers enrolled

in the program, to train vol-

unteers who can help local Cooperative Extension pro-

fessionals with planning, implementing and evaluating

educational programs in clothing, and to expand current

educational offerings and increase outreach opportunities

to clientele. The Wilderness Trail Area currently has

three active Master Clothing Volunteers. In the past year

these volunteers have logged approximately 350 hours of

time spent teaching local clientele basic sewing skills.

According to the Independent Sector Value of Volunteer

Service this equates to $7626.50 in labor costs. One

very successful program this year was the pillowcase

dresses for the Kentucky Acad-

emy. This program spon-

sored by the Kentucky Exten-

sion Homemakers provided

pillowcase dresses for the stu-

dents of this academy. These

certified volunteers coordi-

nated workshops across the 8

county area teaching other volunteers to make these

dresses. As a direct result of these efforts over 15 par-

ticipants improved their sewing skills and 248 dresses

were sent to deserving students attending the Kentucky

Academy in Ghana.

Farm Pond Management Kentucky has over 135,000

farm ponds that are utilized

for irrigation, watering

livestock, and for recrea-

tional purposes, but pond

weeds can quickly take

over and make the area less

efficient. Extension agents

receive numerous requests

each year for information about farm pond management

and the control of aquatic weeds. In an effort to educate

area Extension agents about possible solutions to the

problems, the Laurel County Agriculture and Natural

Resources program organized an agent training for

counties in Southeastern Kentucky. Forrest Wynn,

Aquaculture Extension Specialist with Kentucky State

University, conducted hands-on demonstrations at two

Laurel County farm ponds. He identified factors that

were contributing to the overgrowth of weeds and sug-

gested methods that might prevent the problem, such as

fencing out livestock, maintaining a riparian zone

around the pond, and proper pond construction. The

group discussed the various types of pond weeds and the

best way to eliminate them from the pond. The work-

shop concluded with an actual demonstration of spray-

ing techniques for applying a chemical herbicide to the

pond.

Fifteen agents participated

in the training, with 100%

reporting that the informa-

tion provided was timely,

useful, and had been used to

the benefit of their own

communities.

4

Laurel County Extension Agents 4-H Youth Development ............... Kim Whitson

Agriculture/Natural Resources .. Glenn Williams

Family & Consumer Sciences ....... Judi O’Bryan

Horticulture ................................ Bonnie Sigmon

Laurel County Extension Office Staff 4-H Staff Assistant ......................... Cathi Jordan

4-H Program Assistant .......... Christin Roberson

Agriculture & Horticulture

Staff Assistant ................................. Eileen Kopp

Agriculture & Horticulture

Staff Assistant ...................... Jacqueline Towner

Family & Consumer Sciences

Staff Assistant ............................. Linda Burgard

Family & Consumer Sciences

Program Assistant ..........................Tina Bledsoe

EFNEP Assistant ......................... Velma Mullins

FSNEP Assistant ........................ Michelle Smith

FSNEP Assistant ............................. Dee Wilkins

Office Support Staff ....................... Nikki House

Maintenance ................................... Mary Ellison

Small Steps to Health and Wealth

Small Steps to Health and

Wealth is a state-wide program

that was developed to encourage

people to improve their health

and wealth. The objective is to

help clientele make small man-

ageable changes that result in

better financial portfolios and better physical health. Re-

search has found that some of the same behavioral

changes needed to improve health and physical fitness can

also be applied to financial practices thus allowing this

program to reach an audience that wouldn’t necessarily

come to a financial class. The program has been pre-

sented in Laurel County several times in the past few

years and offered in several different ways such as a series

of lunch and learn lessons and mail-out lessons with com-

puter interaction. Varying the teaching method allows us

to reach a more varied clientele. During the programs

participants focus on behavioral changes that must be

made in order to improve their health and wealth. Eight to

ten behavioral changes are discussed and participants are

encouraged to select 2-3 that they are willing to try in the

months following the program. Some examples of be-

havioral changes taught were tracking behavior, saving

money, setting goals, controlling their environment, and

compound interest. Individual incentives were given to

encourage participants to log their spending, and take

small steps to save money. After the lunch and learn pro-

gram written evaluations were given to the 48 participants.

As a direct result of the program: 100% had set one or

more written financial goal; 76% decreased their house-

hold spending; 94% tracked their current spending habits;

47% compared their financial status with expert recom-

mendations; 24% automated a financial behavior; 71%

felt they had better control over their finances and 29%

put additional money in a savings account. A written

evaluation was not given to the 20 participants of the mail

-out lesson/computer interactive participants, but in a

recent survey of our program one participant responded

with this … “I absolutely loved the Small Steps to Health

and Wealth program that you provided as mail-out les-

sons. I work full-time and was unable to attend the other

programs you provided. After participating in the pro-

gram I chose to use one of the techniques that was taught,

automating your savings. As a direct result of this pro-

gram I now have been able to save over $4,400 in one

year by putting into action what I learned from your

program.”

The Laurel County

Cooperative Extension Service

We deliver information, education, solutions.

For more information, contact us at:

200 County Extension Road

London, KY 40741-9008

(606) 864-4167

Fax: (606) 864-4168

www.ca.uky.edu